Monthly Archives: December 2013

Well, it’s that time of the year again, the time when we bid adieu to the old year and open welcoming arms to the new one. I hope people didn’t have too terrible of a year–and if you did, well, chances are it will get better in 2014. No, really, I’ve seen it happen before.

Okay, I’m going to stop attempting to be encouraging and just post my video of “Now and for Always” from The Lord of the Rings Musical. The world tour is happening in 2015, so I’m hoping it will come to my area at some point.

I’ll be seeing you all next year…and I’d just like to thank everyone who began following my blog this year. I was stunned to see how many of you started following my blog, and I hope you’ll continue to enjoy my posts.

And finally, as a Public Service Announcement for any Catholics who might be reading this, tomorrow is the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God and a Holy Day of Obligation, so get thee to a Mass.

I’m really not sure how to put my thoughts on the 2013 Doctor Who Christmas special into words–there was just something very special about it. We were sad, of course, to bid Eleven farewell, but at the same time Twelve had me smiling as soon as he started complaining about the color of his kidneys.

It was nice to have so many plot threads tied up at the end (although some of the tying seemed a bit slapdash), and knowing more about Gallifrey’s current location certainly adds a new level of intrigue to Doctor Who‘s subsequent seasons. But it was sad, too, to watch as the Doctor declined in his old age. Even when the regeneration energy made him young again, it was bittersweet to hear his farewell speech.

All things considered, though, I handled this transition better than David Tennant’s departure in 2010. In fact, I’m actually looking forward to Peter Capaldi’s performance as the Doctor.

Well, Christmas is tomorrow, and I just wanted to take the time to give all of you my warmest wishes for tomorrow’s holiday. As an extra treat, I’m including a video of American violinist Lindsey Stirling’s beautiful rendition of “What Child is This?”, one of my favorite Christmas carols. I almost did a violin recording of this myself, but I still have trouble hitting a couple of the notes right, so I figured I’d share a recording of someone who knows what she’s doing.

It has come to my attention after that rather depressing mid-season finale of Once Upon a Time that some people are confused by the effects of undoing the curse. Does it mean the previous two seasons never happened? Does it mean Sheriff Graham/Cora/Maleficient/anyone else who died in the last two seasons is still alive? Does it mean we’ll find the Mad Hatter again–or that Cinderella will finally reappear? (Seriously, she was only in two episodes in the first season before falling off the face of Storybrooke. Where on Earth did she go?)

Before we get to these questions, however, let us take a moment to pause in silence and mourn the passing of the Dark One.

RIP, Rumpelstiltskin. You were one of the best characters on the show, and I hope they find a way to resurrect you in March.

Now as for the aftermath of undoing the curse–the most widespread misconception has been that the curse itself never happened because Emma and Henry have no memories of it, but that is not strictly true. From the fairytale characters’ point of view, the curse was very real; if you watch the promo for the spring premiere, you can see where Snow White observes, “We’re back.” So the curse did happen, but Storybrooke itself was wiped from Maine when they all went home–it hadn’t existed before the curse, so it would no longer exist with the curse undone. That part of Maine was restored to its original state, leaving Emma and Henry unable to remember Storybrooke because from our world’s point of view, it had never existed in the first place.

But just because Maine was restored to its previous state does not mean the same is true for the Enchanted Forest, so don’t expect to see any dearly departed favorites make a return.

If it’s still confusing, just chalk it up to wibbly wobbly, timey wimey. It can be extremely useful and applicable in non-Doctor Who situations.

Okay, first of all, I apologize for not doing anything for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe–I wanted to; I really did, but life sort of stopped it from happening. Now to the meat of the matter–today is Gaudete Sunday, the Third Sunday of Advent and one of only two days in the Liturgical Year when the priest wears rose-colored vestments. To commemorate this, I have found a version of the Medieval carol titled, “Gaudete”. You’re welcome, internet.

Today is the feast of St. Nicholas, bishop and confessor who attended the Council of Nicea and was instrumental in drawing up the Nicene Creed but who is more widely known today as Santa Claus (how the mighty have fallen). He was renowned for his generosity and care for the poor, but there was another side to him, a side that most people have no idea existed.

At the aforementioned Council of Nicea, St. Nicholas punched Arius, founder of the Arian Heresy, for denying the Divinity of Christ. This naturally caused a shock–whether he was a heretic or not, you simply didn’t punch people at ecumenical councils. The other bishops at the council stripped Nicholas of his bishop’s garments and had him thrown in jail for assault.

“But how did he go on to become Santa Claus?” you’re probably asking at this point. Well, that night the Lord and the Blessed Virgin visited St. Nicholas in his cell, and when asked why he was in jail, the bishop responded that it was for love of his Lord. This response pleased Christ, and he gave St. Nicholas a book of the Gospels; the Blessed Virgin gave him a stole that represented his status as a bishop.

Here’s where it gets really interesting–the emperor and the bishop who was presiding over the council both saw this visit in their dreams that night, and in the morning they went to visit St. Nicholas to determine if what they had seen was real. When they saw his reading the book he had received from Our Lord the night before and wearing the stole that Our Lady had given him, they were convinced. St. Nicholas was released from jail and returned to the council.

There’s actually a really neat video about this story that you can watch here: